Let's be truthful, 2016 was quite a quiet year for Nintendo gaming. This year's been rather different, however, which helped inspire the return of WGAYPTW™, in which we all talk about our weekend gaming plans. Last time out we had a Halloween edition where, to be completely honest, most people...

A number of years ago this scribe was sitting playing Xenoblade Chronicles when a relative walked into the room - what they saw was weird characters and a jumble of text, icons and assorted madness. As we tried to explain what was going on it became clear that it was a doomed task - "it's a quirky RPG" was the...

If you follow multi-platform websites or other systems on social media, one term will be familiar - loot boxes. After a few years where they've crept into games, plenty of gamers have decided that recent examples take things too far. A recent tipping point seemed to be Middle-earth: Shadow of War, a single player...

Super Mario Odyssey is quite a ride, but to truly complete the game you'll need to find every last Power Moon contained within it. Some of these are relatively easy to collect, while others are hidden away in fiendish locations, off the beaten track.
Don't worry if this task seems impossible - we're here to help! We'll be...

"I don’t think the game would have done as well on any other platform"

When the Nintendo Switch launched many early adopters turned to a few trusted early releases - at retail there was The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and on the eShop there was a cute Nintendo-published co-op puzzler, Snipperclips - Cut it out, together!. As it...

Welcome to our ultimate guide for collecting every Power Moon from the Cascade Kingdom in Super Mario Odyssey! Below, you'll find maps detailing the exact location for all 40 of the Power Moons located in this Kingdom, as well as descriptions on how to get each and every one of them.
The numbers...

Welcome to our ultimate guide for collecting every Power Moon from the Cap Kingdom in Super Mario Odyssey! Below, you'll find maps detailing the exact location for all 31 of the Power Moons located in this Kingdom, as well as descriptions on how to get each and every one of them.
The numbers on the...

Super Mario Odyssey has been out in the wild for a week, and it's safe to say that its launch couldn't have gone much better. Critically acclaimed, to the sort of levels seen with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, it's also been a notable commercial success. Switch owners have rushed to buy it, breaking sales

Finding every Power Moon in Super Mario Odyssey is quite the adventure; the amount of different methods needed to acquire a complete collection is staggering and you may find that you need a little bit of help along the way. One of the many tasks you'll need to complete for a full set is finding every single...

Two Tribes has confirmed that its manic shooter RIVE is coming to the Switch eShop on November 17th, and it will be the best version of the game yet.
For starters, it will offer a new Copilot Mode so you can play with a friend. This is a exclusive mode for the Switch version that allows two...

Can you believe it's November already? It's a great time to be a Switch owner; we've recently seen the release of Super Mario Odyssey and Fire Emblem Warriors and there's still lots more to look forward to in the coming months - certainly enough to keep you occupied until Santa comes knocking at the end...

It is Halloween / All Hallows' Eve / mild vandalism night as we publish this, a rather fun occasion in which dressing up and eating an unhealthy amount of sweets / candy is not only allowed, it's practically mandatory. Of course, it's all about spooky experiences, or alternatively finding something suitably themed that won't...

A couple of weeks ago we brought WGAYPTW™ back here on Nintendo Life, and everyone seemed to have a jolly time. With Halloween right around the corner it's time to pick it up once again.
Of course, a certain incredible game is out now, so plenty will be playing that - but it's the spookiest time of the year and...

Golf Story has proven to be one of the Switch's big indie hits of 2017, but incredibly we could have experienced the game a lot sooner, had fate not intervened.
Sidebar Games' Andrew Newey - who constitutes 50 percent of the game's development team - has been speaking to Red Bull Games about the...

This week brought us the latest notable update to the Nintendo Switch system, taking us to version 4.0.0; there was also an update to the Joy-Con controllers that does... something. It was a notable update in that it added a few major changes - the main additions were the ability to capture the last 30 seconds of...

In this Soapbox article, Nintendo Life contributor Arjun talks about Breath of the Wild and its nature as a '3D Zelda game'.
Before I begin, let me clarify one thing - Breath of the Wild is one of the best games I have ever played. Pun intended, it truly is a breath of fresh air when it comes to video games in general, and...

As a '90s kid I was only really aware of two main groups of gamers - kids and teenagers. It was a pre-internet age, so the points of reference were limited, but I doubt I was that far off. 'Gaming' had been a thing in the '70s and '80s, of course, but a rapid expansion of the industry - after Atari somewhat went off a cliff - was...

A little while ago a Nintendo Life regular sent us an email to ask where the 'What Games Are You Playing This Weekend' (WGAYPTW™) series had gone. Of course, our chums over at Push Square have never stopped doing it, but we drifted away from the series a few years ago here on Nintendo Life.
Why? Partly...

Despite its incredible popularity in Japan, Koei Tecmo's Warriors (or, if you prefer, Musou) series has never really captured western hearts and minds in quite the same way. To the outside observer, the series appears to be little more than mindless button-bashing, with no tactical nuance or depth. As fans of the franchise...

"My dream is about increasing real band players from playing the game"

Tak Fujii is one of the most established and charismatic figures in the Japanese gaming industry today. He spent twenty years at Konami in Chicago and Tokyo, filled roles such as sound designer, director and producer, as well as playing guitar on the incredible Castlevania:...

Here's a bit of a fun stream for the weekend, as we have the Nintendo World Championships out of New York. We know that Metroid: Samus Returns will feature, but apart from that Nintendo has kept tight-lipped about the line-up. Let's see what happens!
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We're heading into what is known by some as the 'silly season' in the games industry. Publishers are understandably eager to get in on the Holiday gravy train, and as a result we have an influx of games to consider. Therefore, it's a good time for our Nintendo Switch Fall / Winter edition of the 'biggest games'...

Can you believe it's October already? It's a great time to be a Switch owner; we've recently seen the release of Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle and Pokkén Tournament DX and there's still lots more to look forward to in the coming months.
So, what's on the horizon...

Last week we went along to the Tokyo Game Show, Japan's best known and most popular games expo. Various publishers went all-in with live events and streams, such as Sony, Capcom and more, while Nintendo still opted for a low-key approach. It offered some support, however, for smaller publishers and...

RiME is a secluded, visually stunning adventure arriving on Switch soon. If you managed to miss its original release a few months back on various systems, then that may end up becoming a blessing in disguise.
Undocked the game lights up the screen, lending its art-style nicely to the Switch screen. Tequila Works may have...

This weekend is one of the most anticipated periods in the Japanese gaming calendar, with the Tokyo Game Show halls being open to thousands of eager members of the public. Among the world's most popular and renowned expo events, it's a significant part of game promotion and reveals in...

The past few months has brought a steady stream of good news for Nintendo Switch owners. For fans of the eShop it's been a terrific period, with lots of varied and talented developers confirming their games for the hardware. We've also - gradually - seen an increase in third-party support from the big...

Now, with the Bethesda published 2016 iteration coming to the Nintendo Switch later this year, DOOM can be small and dumb, while still having its trademark 'BFG'. We got our chance to try out id Software’s upcoming port of its DOOM franchise reboot at a Bethesda event earlier this month; look, we know what questions you...

Rockstar Games is a business powerhouse at the top of the gaming industry. Producing sales figures some developers could only dream of, with the Grand Theft Auto series reaching over 150 million copies sold, the studio rarely puts a foot wrong. On 7th September it was announced that 1940’s crime title...

This week we had the second of what is now the 'current' mainline Nintendo Direct format. Yes, we've had showcases, presentations, game-specific Directs and so on, but this week's 45 minute show adopted a similar format to a Spring broadcast - quickfire 'headline' sections for each current console with some extended showcases...

This week Nintendo brought us a lengthy Nintendo Direct; it clocked in at 45 minutes and included four 'showcase' segments and quickfire headline sections. Covering both 3DS and Switch, it packed in a lot of announcements.
As expected there were some new announcements, a few slightly out of...

We're gearing up for what could be, potentially, the final or penultimate 'full' Nintendo Direct of 2017; we may see another focused on early 2018 releases in a month or two, or potentially just smaller game-specific broadcasts. Time will tell, but it's always a treat when a full-fat...

Hail and well met, travelers! Come, rest your weary feat at our fire as we regale you with stories of our time spent in the world of Skyrim! You maybe be inclined to ask, “but noble bard, wasn’t Skyrim released over half a decade ago?”, and you wouldn’t be too far off - but this, dear friends, is Skyrim on...

Back in the summer I wrote a slightly feisty article addressing some remarks I'd read of people not grasping the 'point' of the Switch. Yet it's a legitimate issue - as it's a hybrid everyone will have their own viewpoint of it, and even game publishers all seem to approach the system in different ways. Nintendo...

NeuroVoider is a twin-stick shooter RPG set in a futuristic world, and has a pretty striking preoccupation with robots and rocket launchers. It launched last week on the Switch eShop, so we though it would be the ideal time to speak to Flying Oak Games' Thomas Altenburger about the game...

The Switch is now over six months old, with that first half year flashing by in a blink. It's been the centrepiece in a big year for Nintendo, beginning with its full unveiling in a live January event through to its 3rd March launch. In that time we've had over 100 games on the eShop, along with some high quality...

Nintendo has been in the headlines a lot recently due to the introduction of upcoming Switch retail games with the words "internet download and microSD card required” prominently displayed on the front of the box. While 2K Sports' NBA 2K18 has become the poster child for this unpopular change – which might over time...

Of all the big Switch exclusives due this year, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 might just be the biggest; Splatoon 2 may be racking up big sales, and Super Mario Odyssey may hold more space in the collective imagination, but there’s no arguing with the vastness of Monolith Soft’s Xenoblade Chronicles series. The Wii original

PikuNiku is one of the more interesting indie titles coming to Switch. Designed by Arnaud De Bock, the 2D platformer is set in a 'delightful dystopia' and boasts local co-op play on Nintendo's console. Keen to learn a little more about the enigmatic title, we tracked down its equally enigmatic...

In January 2017, at the Nintendo Switch reveal event, Producer Yoshiaki Koizumi touted that the upcoming Super Mario Odyssey would follow in the footsteps of Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine. For long-time fans, this announcement of Mario’s return to an open-world sandbox adventure was a...

A few months ago we did 'The Switch Report' for the system's first three months on the market, in which we went through aspects of the console's first quarter and looked at positives and negatives. Well, time has flown, and it's now over six months old and well settled into millions of homes, with plenty of gamers still...

PAX West 2017 has come and gone with plenty of exciting news for Nintendo Switch owners. Among the announcements was the reveal of the first trailer for Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes, the latest title from Grasshopper Manufacture launching exclusively on Nintendo Switch in 2018. A lot was revealed...

Nintendo, for the past couple of generations in which system memory has mattered, has done the bare minimum to cater to the issue. Sometimes it's gotten away with that, but it's been a stick with which the company's been beaten over the past few years. In the Wii and DSi era download games were...

Along with the open-world intrigue of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and the retro goodness of Hamster’s ACA Neo Geo releases, the Switch’s launch lineup included I Am Setsuna, a retro-styled JRPG from Square Enix subsidiary Tokyo RPG Factory that delivered an old-school adventure in a snowy modern package. It’s...

Like a speeding bullet caught in the backside of a bat out of hell, the Nintendo Switch eShop continues to speed ahead of expectations. So, once again we're left with the increasingly difficult task of picking the very best that the last month had to offer on the console and then chat about it into a microphone...

Can you believe it's September already? It's a great time to be a Switch owner; we've recently seen the release of Splatoon 2 and Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, and there's still lots more to look forward to in the coming months.
So, what's on the horizon for Nintendo Switch...

The crossover between the house Mario built and Ubisoft’s demented Rabbids is finally upon us, and Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is a game unlike any other on the Switch to date. Before it was even so much as officially announced gamers were panning the title, saying it just didn’t make sense. Much to our delight,...

"All the pieces fit together organically and I’m happy with the result"

Yesterday saw the surprise announcement of many upcoming Switch eShop games, one of which was of special interest to fans of the vintage Game Boy. However, despite looking every inch like a classic monochrome title from 1989, Save me Mr Tako: Tasukete Tako-San is the...

Splatoon 2 is gearing up for its second Splatfest as we publish this, a battle between Flight and Invisibility; inklings will battle across a variety of stages to determine which side will reign supreme. Of course, that means those inklings are going to need to know how to outsmart and outshoot their opponents. Not all of us are...

Earlier today Nintendo of Europe published a rather tasty Nintendo x Indies sizzle reel, in slightly odd timing considering that tomorrow Nintendo of America is broadcasting a Nindies Showcase Presentation. Inter-subsidiary one-upmanship aside, the European video is a nice reminder of some of the...

When we first reported on the Hori Switch Horipad a while back there were a few puzzled faces in the Nintendo Life office. The big selling point of the wired controller was the fact that the D-pad could be removed to reveal a cluster of four buttons underneath; at the time, we genuinely pondered why you'd ever need to do this, and -...

After months of speculation prior to the Nintendo Switch being officially revealed in October 2016, it's fair to say that the initial reaction was largely very positive. This early enthusiasm from the gaming community has been backed up by decent software support from Nintendo and a ever-growing install base; the Switch...

Set after a global catastrophic event that resulted in 96 percent of the Earth's surface being underwater and forced machines to adapt into various marine forms, Earth Atlantis is shaping up to be an interesting shooter on Switch.
Your mission is to slay more than 20 'boss monsters' by choosing...

With Sonic Mania just a day away at the time of publication, the lid is being lifted on review embargoes. Our chums at Push Square have published a review, but there's one simple reason we're posting this feature instead - we've been playing it on PS4. SEGA America offered us PS4 / Xbox...

At the moment some Switch aficionados are a little baffled and frustrated with Capcom. There are multiple reason for this, but Monster Hunter: World (coming to PS4, Xbox One and PC) is arguably top of the list. Capcom has only shown limited support for the Switch so far, with a...

Splatoon 2 is now well into its run on Switch, and with it comes a whole new generation of inklings ready to take to the splattlefield for some turf wars and ranked battles. All inklings may be created equal, but that doesn’t mean all abilities are.
Fortunately we’re here to give you a rundown on which abilities are worth your...

While its reveal at E3 was anything but a surprise, the positive response to Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle was arguably unexpected. The idea of a crossover between the two IPs wasn't well received by everyone before it was shown, with this writer among the initial doubters. Yet the impact in LA was significant,...

With Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle now just weeks away, attention will start to shift to how this cross-over will perform on Nintendo Switch. Early instincts from leaks weren't positive for all, but it made a notable impact at E3 to win over a number of fans. We recently enjoyed some...

You've all seen (and no doubt poked fun at) the official diagram for Hori's Switch voice chat headset, and you may well have tried out the rather irksome, smartphone-based voice chat system Nintendo has created for its leading console. For the full experience you really need one of Hori's headsets, which come...

Can you believe it's August already? It's a great time to be a Switch owner; we've recently seen the release of ARMS and Splatoon 2 and there's still lots more to look forward to in upcoming months.
So what's on the horizon for Nintendo Switch fans, then? We've complied a list of...

Nintendo is still fully committed to amiibo, that much is obvious. New figures and cards continue to gradually emerge, some as expected with the biggest games (such as Splatoon 2 and Metroid: Samus Returns), and others a little unexpected like the cards that came out alongside Mario Sports...

The hybrid nature of the Switch means that it straddles the divide between portable and domestic gameplay; it's a unit that is small and light enough to be carried in your bag for gaming on the go, but it also connects to your TV like a traditional system, offering big-screen delights as well.
The super-portable nature...

If you are a Nintendo Switch owner, you might well have been enjoying Splatoon 2 this weekend. Playing through the single player campaign or testing your skills out in some online matches is a great way to build up your Inkling, but what do the Splatoon themed amiibo do within the game?
You can of course use both the new Splatoon 2...

When Nintendo confirmed that the co-op Salmon Run mode in Splatoon 2 would take place in specific limited time windows, there were some understandable groans. Nevertheless since the game's launch it's not been much of an issue, as the mode has been available pretty much whenever we want to play it. The function of the time windows is...

When Nintendo confirmed that it'd be running lobbies and voice chat through a dedicated smartphone app there were plenty of critical remarks online. As a site we followed the line of a wait and see approach, but as crazy Hori workarounds and limited details emerged there was the whiff of a messy launch, and...

RIVE has proven to be an interesting project - it's a truly challenging and smart twin-stick shooter that is a swansong for Two Tribes. The studio brought us some excellent titles over a number of years, but decided that it would make one final game before moving on to new things...

Today is Friday, July 21st. It's horrendously hot and humid in Japan. It's the height of summer and the start of the school holidays in many parts of Tokyo. It's also the day that Splatoon 2 is out. As if the shortage of Nintendo Switch consoles wasn't bad enough, Nintendo's newest...

It might be a struggle to explain to your grandparents exactly how big a deal YouTube is these days, but a few facts and figures usually help. Joseph "Stampy Cat" Garrett - one of the world's most popular Minecraft YouTubers - has over 8 million subscribers (not to mention...

Splatoon 2 is about to hit stores, but it's arrived on the eShop in Japan and some have received their pre-orders early all around the globe. While trying to figure out the Nintendo Switch Online app and generally messing about, your humble scribe clocked the first in-game Miiverse-style posts, following on...

Nintendo's fancy Switch Online App is now available, and Splatoon 2 is the first game you'll be able to use it with.
The Japanese veteran has taken a rather unusual approach with this app; instead of including match-making features and voice-chat in-game, those elements are channelled through your smart device.
Given how...

It's fair to say that Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle didn't have the most auspicious of starts. When the game leaked it was met with a fair degree of scepticism, but that all changed when the title was unveiled onstage at E3, complete with an appearance by Shigeru Miyamoto himself...

Due to the online servers not yet being available this preview is entirely focused around the single player campaign. Make sure you keep an eye out for our full review where we look at the whole kit and caboodle!
If there’s one complaint people had about the original Splatoon it’s that the single player Hero Mode,...

The first DLC pack for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has been released and with it comes the Trial of the Sword, a series of 50 challenges split across three sections Link must complete in order to fully power up the Master Sword. Completing all three sections will raise the Master Sword's power from 30 all...

The first DLC pack for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has been released and with it comes the Trial of the Sword, a series of 50 challenges split across three sections which Link must complete in order to fully power up the Master Sword. Completing all three sections will raise the Master Sword's power from 30...

The first DLC pack for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has been released and with it comes the Trial of the Sword, a series of 50 challenges split across three sections which Link must complete in order to fully power up the Master Sword. Completing all three sections will raise the Master Sword's power from 30 all...